Mike Norman Economics

In Moscow this week, the Chinese and Russian leaders revealed their joint commitment to redesign the global order, an undertaking that has 'not been seen in 100 years.'Can this traspire without WWIII, already being waged through hybrid warfare, without going kinetic. If t goes hot, can nulear winter be avoided? These are the questions on the table now that the gauntlet has been thrown down.The CradleIn Moscow, Xi and Putin bury Pax AmericanaPepe Escobar

Anyhow, this exchange led me to believe that regulators applied some common sense to their stress test exercises and examined how bank assets would fare in all bad but plausible circumstances. In the years 2020-21, when 10-year Treasury rates were at times flirting with 1.0 percent, a sharp rise in interest rates had to be seen as a plausible, even if unlikely, possibility.Incredibly, the Fed stress tests did not consider this scenario. This means that the Fed’s stress tests would not have...

Your humble blogger has been saying that the new bank rescue scheme, which is a covert backstop of nearly all uninsured deposits, is a disastrous extension of government support to institutions that are welfare queens save for executive and manager pay levels. And the Fed may make banks’ “Heads I win, tails you lose” bet even bigger by announcing that all deposits will be guaranteed.We’ve argued since the crisis that banking is the most heavily government subsidized industry, far...

In the latest IMF Finance and Development journal (March 2023), there is an interesting article by the former governor of the Bank of Japan, Masaaki Shirakawa – It’s time to rethink the foundation and framework of monetary policy. It goes to the heart of the complete confusion that is now being demonstrated by central bank policy makers. With their ‘one trick pony’ interest rate attacks on inflation, not only have they been inconsequential in dealing with that target (the so-called price...

Narrow banking is a concept for a bank that holds 100% reserves against deposits. It attracts people who are deeply concerned about the symbolic content of “money” on both the left (e.g. Positive Money) and the free market right (the Chicago Plan). Devotees of narrow banking are happy to talk your ear off about how their plans work, so I leave finding out more as an exercise as a reader. I just want to focus on the core principle: they want banks to not take risks lending deposits, so that...

Overview: This was an impromptu conversation precipitated by former Congressman Dennis Kucinich to have a deep dive discussion with a former economic advisor, Michael Hudson, on the shockingly large recent bank collapses. As the former chair of the powerful Government Oversight Subcommittee, Kucinich had a ringside seat in unraveling the bank collapses after the housing bubble burst. He confronted the players in the field with withering questions in Congressional hearings. Now Kucinich...

Forget 50 bps. Not even 25 bps. There could be no increase, and markets will go nuts. Here's how. Trade and invest using the concepts of MMT. Get a 30-day free trial to MMT Trader. https://www.mmteconomics.com/ Mike Norman Twitter https://twitter.com/mikenorman Mike Norman Economics: https://mikenormaneconomics.blogspot.com/ Understanding the Daily Treasury Statement video course. https://www.pitbulleconomics.com/understanding-daily-treasury-statement-video-course/?s2-ssl=yes

A dual U.S.-Greek national working for Meta Platforms Inc. was hacked by the Predator spyware for around one year in Greece, the New York Times (NYT) revealed on Monday.At the time, Artemis Seaford was in Greece working as a trust and safety manager on Meta’s security policy team.Why she was hacked is unclear, but it’s now certain that her phone was hacked by Predator. According to NYT, this could make her the first known case of an American spied on in Europe using such technology.Predator...

Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced the first piece of legislation in his new Worker’s Agenda to Rebuild America. The Ending Normal Trade Relations with China Act would revoke China's normal trade relations status to reduce our dependency and protect America’s working class.China is America’s greatest adversary. To win the fierce economic competition for jobs, industry, and the future, America must return to the long-standing formula for American success: strong and independent...

Some indication that supply-chain issues are normalizing. If the trend persists, this would portend lower supply-side inflationary pressure.Angry BearThe Fed’s New Supply Chain Pressure Gauge just went Negativerun75441Also by run75441Medicare Advantage uses Algorithms to block care for Seniorsrun75441